Many experienced teachers work with pupils whose Reception class days are far behind them, but would they benefit from a better understanding of the foundations on which they are building?
The national schools commissioner has called for just that: early years to be a “prerequisite” part of every teacher’s training, regardless of the phase of education in which they work.
At a recent conference, Sir David Carter set a scene: it was the first Inset day of the new school year, and staff at an academy trust were celebrating a summer of successful A-level results.
The key stage 5 teachers were asked to stand up, and accepted a warm round of applause for their efforts, but the chief executive believed that another group, from the opposite end of the age spectrum, deserved a share of the glory, too.
“I asked every Reception teacher to stand up because they needed a round of applause, too, because the fact they taught those children so well 12 years earlier underpinned what then happened in Year 12 and 13,” says Sir David.
Back then, he led the Cabot Learning Federation in Bristol. Now he is one of the most influential voices in education in England and he has come to the conclusion that early years should form part of every teacher’s training.
“The more I see in my role, both as RSC [regional schools commissioner] and particularly in the last 12 months as national schools commissioner, is that where I see outstandingly good early years practice, you see the foundations upon which the next layers [are built],” he told the Bett Academies Summit, held in Birmingham recently.
It underpins everything
“I think that focus of what really good early years teaching looks like should actually be a prerequisite of every teacher’s training, even if they are working in the secondary sector, to understand what happens in terms of phonics teaching, in terms of good stages of development, that underpins everything that we do.”
Researchers say that a good early years education can have a lasting impact throughout a child’s formal education, and can be particularly important in addressing the gap between disadvantaged children and their more-advantaged peers.
But could there also be benefits from making sure that teachers of much older age groups have a better understanding of good early years teaching?
There is widespread support for this idea. James Noble-Rogers, the executive director of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET), describes himself as “sympathetic”.
It’s really helpful to understand the basics of reading that youngsters have been taught, and it’s quite illustrative to understand these fundamental building blocks
And Stephen Munday, chief executive of the Cam Academy Trust, which spans infants to sixth-formers, says that “in principle, it’s got to make sense”.
Munday led a group of independent experts that last July published a framework of core content for initial teacher training (ITT) courses.
He explains that the only time he had to learn phonics was when he trained to be an Ofsted inspector. “Actually, when I did that, I thought that it’s really helpful to understand the basics of reading that youngsters have been taught, and it’s quite illustrative to understand these fundamental building blocks that should be coming through that are taking them all the way through to more senior study,” he says.
“It contextualises the teaching you are trying to do. All good teaching should be taking account of prior learning. This is fundamental. Not having a clue about it does not seem a good principle in terms of what you need for good teaching.”
As well as understanding teaching methods such as phonics, can secondary teachers put them into effective practice for older children who are struggling to read?
Phonics expert Chris Jolly believes that they can. But it is not a matter of simply replicating early years teaching in a different setting. Phonics is an appropriate tool for teaching secondary pupils, he says, but the methods and materials used for Reception children have to be adapted to ensure older pupils are not too “self-conscious” to engage.
For him, one successful method is asking an older pupil who is struggling to help a younger child with phonics, so they learn themselves through the process.
“It’s an area where there are a lot of interesting materials, but we still do not have the perfect answer [on how best to adapt phonics for older pupils]. There’s still an opportunity for further work,” he says.
Individual needs
Wendy Scott, president of TACTYC, the Association for Professional Development in Early Years, believes that early years pedagogy could help teachers of older age groups to learn about taking the needs of each individual child into account, as well as help them to gauge the “emotional temperature of the class”.
Early years teachers are particularly skilled at coming up with creative ways to tailor lessons to different group of pupils, she says: “On a hot day, you can’t expect children to be concentrating on the times table. Take them outside, or do it by singing.”
However, not everyone holds the early years approach in the same high regard. A Twitter row erupted this week after some secondary teachers criticised what they saw as an over-emphasis on child-led learning in the government’s new early years foundation stage framework, which came into effect this week.
Katie Ashford, deputy head at Michaela Community School in north-west London, was lambasted by early years teachers after describing the framework as “appalling” and linking it to levels of illiteracy.
And, while many feel that Sir David’s idea may be sound in theory, they have reservations about how it would work in practice.
Munday says the early years suggestion came up when his committee considered the ITT framework, but it did not include it because of “the practicalities”.
“I totally understand that a provider will say, ‘You are right, but it’s yet another thing we have got to wedge into the relatively brief one-year training.’
“That was the issue. How much do you have to study to make it meaningful? You could say, ‘Here’s a worksheet, and let’s move on to classroom management.’”
The framework does, however, say that a teacher must “demonstrate an awareness of the physical, social and intellectual development of children, and know how to adapt teaching to support pupils’ education at different stages of development”.
Courses ‘not long enough’
Munday’s practical concerns are echoed by Noble-Rogers, who warns that postgraduate courses typically last just nine months, and are already under pressure to include topics as diverse as the Holocaust, safeguarding and PE.
“For postgraduates, you are talking about trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot,” he says.
If it’s imposed, then people will say, ‘Why am I doing this, I teach 14- and 15-year-olds’
Instead, his thoughts turn to education secretary Justine Greening’s call, at last month’s Association of School and College Leaders’ conference, for high-quality CPD to run “like a golden thread” through a teacher’s career. He suggests that learning early years could come in the first years after they qualify - a suggestion echoed by Munday.
Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the ASCL, is generally supportive of the idea of incorporating early years teaching into teacher training, but he says it would need to be discussed and developed with secondary teachers to secure their buy-in.
“If it’s imposed, then people will say, ‘Why am I doing this, I teach 14- and 15-year-olds?’” he says. “If there’s a clear rationale behind it and a narrative that explains the why, then people will usually go along with it, because if they understand the why, then they will latch on to it as being important, as there’s a reason for doing it.”
The move could help to raise the attainment of disadvantaged children, he adds.
